15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Pulp Fiction

A Word on Quentin Tarantino

You know that kind of feeling when you see a rollercoaster and you are like “Gosh, I’m gonna ride that. Wait, no, I’m too scared”. Well, that’s the same feeling I get when I am about to watch a Tarantino movie. At the end, after overcoming my fears and watching the whole movie, I’m lucky that I took the ride and I would do it over and over again another 100 times. Tarantino, genius like always, brings about “emotion chaos“ and I have the “wow” look on my face a good 99% of the full duration of any of his works.

And of course, my favorite movie of all time is one by Tarantino. “Oldie but goldie” – Pulp Fiction. I have watched it maybe 10 times so far, and no, I'm still not getting tired of it. So, here are 15 things you probably, most likely, didn’t know about it.

Quentin Tarantino | Source

1. The Stolen Trophy

Remember when Vincent and Mia walked in to the house holding a trophy? Well, no, they didn’t win the competition. Further into the movie, there is an advert which states that the trophy had been stolen. Ring a bell?

2. Shots, shots, shots!

No, not Tequila. I'm talking about the adrenaline shot that Vega stabbed Mia with. I must admit it was a stressful scene, but actually it was reversed in post-production. They inserted the needle, then Travolta pulled it out. Wait, reverse... boom, magic!

Michelle Pfeiffer | Source

3. Michelle Pfeiffer as Mia!?

Yeah, Uma did an amazing job out there. But, Tarantino’s first pick for the role was Michelle Pfeiffer. In the running were also Halle Berry, Meg Ryan, Alfre Woodard, Daryl Hannah and Rosanna Arquette. Still, Uma Thurman won our hearts. We would love to keep her, thanks.

Pulp Fiction Soundtrack Playlist

4. Amsterdam

You probably noticed that Vincent Vega at the beginning of the movie has just come back from Amsterdam. This is probably a small, but clever nod to the trip that Tarantino took in 1992. In a small hotel in Amsterdam, Tarantino wrote the script for Pulp Fiction. He returned back home the following year, with his new soon-to-be Oscar winning script.

Jules and his Wallet | Source

5. Bad Mother F$%ker

Jules’s famous wallet “Bad Mother F**ker” belonged to Quentin Tarantino. This is in fact a reference to the theme tune of Shaft.

6. 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu

Vega’s sweet ride, with the 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu, got a new owner after the film’s release. This car, though, belonged to Tarantino in real life. It wasn’t found for nearly 2 decades after.

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love | Source

7. Just $8 million

Making the movie was quite cheap: only $8 million, and nearly $5 million of that was for the salaries of the actors and actresses. This is put in to perspective when you consider that the move has made over $210,000,000.

8. Wanna be Lance and Jody?

Courtney Love once said that she and Kurt Cobain were supposed to be Lance and Jody in Pulp Fiction. However, Tarantino later denied these rumors about offering the pair the roles, and also denied ever having met with Cobain in the first place.

9. "Trust me, it’s perfect.”

Uma Thurman at first didn’t like the song for the Jack Rabbit Slim’s Twist Contest, but Quentin Tarantino stood firm and told her “Trust me, it’s perfect".

Paul Calderon | Source

10. Different Jules

Tarantino had Samuel L Jackson in mind for this role for a long time. But after an audition with Paul Calderon, he simply could not decide who should get the role. Jackson, wanting this role so bad, flew back to LA and auditioned for a second time. This cemented his role as Jules.

11. The Dance

The dance that Mia and Vince performed at the Contest is actually an imitation of Mario Mezzabota and Gloria Morin’s dance from the movie 8½.

Butch, Pulp Fiction (played by Bruce Willis) | Source

12. Smoking Cigarettes, watching Captain Kangaroo

Butch was driving back from the apartment and he was singing along to the The Statler Brothers song "Flowers on the Wall". Later, in Die Hard With A Vengeance, Jackson will ask Bruce Willis's character John McClane what he’s been doing, and his reply would be the very same lyrics that he once sang: "Oh just smoking cigarettes, watching captain kangaroo".

13. A Good Time for Pie

"Any time of the day is a good time for pie". This famous Fabienne’s saying would also be said by Alabame in True Romance. And guess what!? It was written by Quentin Tarantino.

14. F$%# Word was Said 265 Times

Tarantino uses this word a lot in his films. In Pulp Fiction, the word was used a whacking great total of 265 times! This fall slightly short of Reservoir Dogs wherein it was used 269 times. But at 265 times, this was the most times the word was used in any one single movie in 1994.

Samuel L Jackson's Ezekiel 25:17 Speech from Pulp Fiction

15. Ezekiel 25.17

Maybe one of the most famous scenes in the movie is the one where Samuel L. Jacksons’s character delivers the biblical “Ezekiel 25.17” speech. Shortly after his recital, he quickly kills his targets. However, it was later revealed that the speech was in fact completely made up by Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson!

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Which of the 15 Interesting Facts Were You MOST Surprised to Find Out?